Mix n match

Sophistication is generally the last thing on my mind when I am indulging in good food especially when I am at home.I have no qualms about mixing yellow dal with hot garlic chicken when the gravy becomes too hot or having chappatis with a chinese dish.
Now you must be wondering whether I possess the taste buds of an alien- but being a Bengali I am habituated to all kinds of tastes-sweet,sour,bitter,hot.So what's appalling to you is routine to me.

However you normally do not get dosas and Chinese dishes at the same restaurant.Hence my experiments with food had to be stopped once outside home.

Not Any More.

The name "mix n match" which was earlier associated only with clothes has now penetrated the realm of food as well.
You can forget all about culinary etiquette and mix South Indian dishes with Chinese cuisine-don't worry nobody's going to raise their eyebrows at you.Mix n match is the new mantra today,thanks to the food marts in the malls-where you get all kinds of cuisines.Now I can have a bland sandwich dipped in sambhar to get over its blandness.Almost any kind of permutation-combination is possible owing to this concept of getting everything under one roof.

I can therefore blissfully encourage my "barbaric" eating habits and summon the gastronomic juices to help me gulp down.

Happy eating!

Web of illusions

It was a hot and sultry afternoon-one of those days when you feel like just lazing around.Samantha's books lay scattered all over her bed.She was in no mood to read.Instead her lovelorn mind was filled with reminisces of the online conversations she had with her boyfriend Robbie a month back....

Samantha was a lonely girl.She did not have too many friends and so far never had amorous feelings about anyone,that is anyone who actually exists.But she harboured fantasies about those perfect but unreal lovers whom she found in fictional love stories.She read a lot of books and submerged herself totally into the story as if it were her own life.All her emotional yearnings were vicariously fulfilled through these novels.
But Robbie gave her a chance to live her own real lovelife.

Robbie was a charmer and could sway people with his words.Samantha had never met him,but she felt she could trust him.Eventually she fell head over heels in love with his witty jokes,his philosophical musings and his romantic odes dedicated to her.He stirred in her quixotic dreams about their future.Her mind was totally consumed with his thoughts.She felt like a dream whenever she conversed with him.

They did have their little arguments though-lovers' tiffs.But they were quickly resolved and made them even more loving towards each other.Such vicissitudes of their relationship made their bond stronger with each passing day.Robbie often teased her playfully by calling her his "aggresive lover" which she found really cute.

All this and much more was haunting Samantha now.Approximately a month back Robbie had abruptly stopped talking to her.It was sudden and without warning.Despite her incessant pleadings she received not even a smiley from Robbie.He ignored her completely.The last thirty days had been torturous for her.She had not been able to concentrate on her studies.Numbed by shock and a feeling of hopelessness,tears welled up her eyes every now and then.Her heart was broken beyond repair.She felt like she was living a chimerical life so long.One moment Robbie was there-a handsome guy who promised her the world......the next moment he just disappeared without a trace.The five month old love story suddenly ceased to exist.

The chat window blinked on her computer screen.Her virtual friends were waiting for her.
A slight breeze blew in disturbing the pages of an unread novel,which lay on her bed.The yellowed pages held the tragic story of unrequited love centred around a female protagonist.

Fighting back her silent tears Samantha sat up.She logged out of the social networking site and caressed the pages of the book.
Books were once again her best companions.They couldnt deceive or break her heart....ever.

Seen through innocent eyes

I am a six year old girl.My name is Shilpa and I am scared.......
My family possesses a television which shows scary images nowadays....burning
buildings,crying people.......and men with backpacks.These men visit me in my dreams every night.They are like the ghosts of my grandmother's stories.Every afternoon,while having lunch she tells me her stories.When i feel afraid she assures me that its just a story and ghosts dont actually exist.But my mother says that the men on tv are real...I dont know how......how could they get inside the tv??But nobody pays any attention to my questions anymore.I see their faces and I think they feel frightened too....but they still don't let me watch my favourite tom and jerry show on cartoon network.
I told my best friend,Rusha Ali few days back that even our parents are afraid of ghosts and she agreed.She also told me that they remain afraid for a long time......though we just go off to sleep after hearing ghost stories.
I had known this fact before she told me but I didn't tell her,in case she thought that my mom and dad are cowards.
Anyway I learnt a new term "terrorist".In case you don't know thats what the men on tv are called.Funny word.Why couldn't they be just called ghosts I don't know.
I have a friend at school who has a black bag exactly identical to the men on tv.I teased him about that and he complained to his mother.His mother complained to my mother and ma scolded me.She said that I shouldn't hurt anyone like that and she'l lock me up in my room if I did so again.I cried and cried and vomited out my dinner.I couldn't understand.All I had done was tease someone about his bag and so much fuss about that!
That night I decided to eavesdrop on my parents' conversation.It is bad manners to listen at doors but I was angry.I was surprised to hear that they were concerned about my safety at school and they felt that I'l have to be taught how to behave in sensitive times.
I have good friends and I play with them everyday.So I did not understand why they were talking like this and I also don't know what is so sensitive about time.But I felt afraid....not because of what they were saying but because of their tone.I know even they were afraid.A chill ran inside me.....and I started crying.

I thought I was the bravest person in my house.........but now I am not so sure anymore.